A large proportion of the human population has some misformation of the nasal passages which makes breathing difficult, such as a deviated septum--the dividing wall between the two nasal passages. The lower portion of the nostril, immediately above the entrance to the nostril, is known as the vestibule, and is a structure which tapers inwardly to a narrowed neck-like area called the ostium internum. Above the ostium internum the nasal passages widen out again. Nasal obstructions commonly occur at the ostium in individuals who have a deviated septum and similar conditions, to the point that the ostium may be substantially blocked. Commonly, the lateral wall of the vestibule at the ostium is loose, with the result that the wall draws in during the process of inhalation to substantially block passage of air through the ostium. The loose skin tissues may act as a "check-valve" in that they draw in to block air flow during in-breathing, but may open up again to allow air to be exhaled.
Blockage of the nasal passages is obviously an inconvenience to persons who experience it, but it may ultimately result in more serious problems. In particular, sustained mouth breathing over a long period of time can lead to a variety of chronic problems including malformation of the teeth, sleep disturbances because of irregularity of breathing, and possible lung irritation from mouth breathing in cold weather and from breathing in foreign particles that would otherwise be filtered if the breath had been passed through the nose.
The most common approach to a serious and chronic nasal blockage problem as described above is a surgical attempt to correct the malformation of the nasal passages. However, surgery is not only expensive, time consuming, and somewhat unpleasant and dangerous, in many cases surgery fails to correct the problem. A number of nasal dilation devices have been devised in an attempt to provide an alternative to surgery in correcting the problem of blocked nasal passages. Typically, these devices have provided a forced dilation or separation of the nasal tissues to open up the passages, such as is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,597,331; 2,335,936; 2,672,138; and 4,105,035. Some of these devices attempt to physically distort the bone and cartilage as well as the soft tissue of the nostril in order to provide a wider passage. However, such devices have apparently not found favor, perhaps because of ineffectiveness, discomfort in wearing, difficulty of insertion, expense or other factors.